Supervisors: Dr. John K.B. Ford and Dr. Andrew W. Trites
Thesis title/general idea: The Foraging Habitat of Humpback Whales

Research Objectives

The main goal of Luciano’s Ph.D. research is to identify the oceanographic parameters and basic processes that determine humpback whale distribution in their feeding areas, leading to a better understanding of habitat use and habitat selection of large mammals on an aquatic environment. His study involves field work in B.C. waters and off the Antarctic Peninsula.

Research Interests: Luciano began his research on cetaceans by investigating killer whale interactions with longline fisheries and killer whale occurrence and ecology in Brazil. He then studied bottlenose dolphins in southern Brazil, with focus on the population abundance of photo-identified individuals using mark-recapture techniques. Luciano has also been studying cetaceans in the Antarctic for over 10 years, with particular interest on humpback whales and killer whales. His studies there involve the identification of humpback whale stocks, migratory routes and site fidelity; cetacean abundance; killer whale occurrence and behavior; and, more recently, habitat modeling of humpback whales to investigate their distribution in relation to oceanographic processes.

Publications:

Engel, M.H., Fagundes, N.J.R., Rosenbaum, H.C., Ott, P.H., Schmitt, R., Secchi, E.,Dalla Rosa, L. and Bonatto, S.L. (in press). Mitochondrial DNA diversity of the southwestern Atlantic humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) breeding area off Brazil, and the potential connections to Antarctic feeding areas. Conservation Genetics

Azevedo, A.F., Oliveira, A.M., Dalla Rosa, L. and Lailson-Brito, J. 2007. Characteristics of whistles from resident bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in southern Brazil. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 121:2978-2983. (PDF)

Rasmussen, K., Palacios, D.M., Calambokidis, J., Saborío, M.T., Dalla Rosa, L., Secchi, E.R., Steiger, G.H., Allen, J.M. and Stone, G.S. 2007. Southern Hemisphere humpback whales wintering off Central America: insights from water temperature into the longest mammalian migration. Biology Letters 3:302-305. (PDF)

Dalla Rosa, L. and Secchi, E.R. 2007. Killer whale (Orcinus orca) interactions with the tuna and swordfish longline fishery off southern and south-eastern Brazil: a comparison with shark interactions. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK 87: 135-140. (PDF)

Acevedo, J., Rasmussen, K., Félix, F., Castro, C., Llano, M., Secchi, E.R., Saborío, M.T., Aguayo-Lobo, A., Haase, B., Scheidat, M., Dalla Rosa, L., Olavarría, C., Forestell, P., Acuña, P., Kaufman, G. and Pastene, L. 2007. Migratory destinations of humpback whales from the Magellan Strait feeding ground, southeast Pacific. Marine Mammal Science 23(2): 453-463. (PDF)

Stevick, P. T., Aguayo, A., Allen, J., Avila, I.C., Capella, J., Castro, C., Chater, K., Dalla Rosa, L., Engel, M.H., Félix, F., Florez-Gonzalez, L., Freitas, A., Haase, B., Llano, M., Lodi, L., Muñoz, E., Olavarria, C., Secchi, E.R., Scheidat, M. and Siciliano, S. 2004. Migrations of individually identified humpback whales between the Antarctic Peninsula and South America. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management 6(2): 109-113. (PDF)

Zerbini, A.N., Secchi, E.R., Bassoi, M., Dalla Rosa, L., Higa, A., de Sousa, L., Moreno, I.B., Möller, L.M. and Caon, G. 2004. Distribuição e índices de cetáceos na plataforma continental externa e talude no sul e sudeste do Brasil: resultados do programa Revizee e perspectivas futuras. Série Documentos Revizee, Ministério do Meio Ambiente. [portuguese].

Secchi, E.R., Barcellos, L., Zerbini, A.N. and Dalla Rosa, L. 2003. Biological observations on a dwarf minke whale, Balaenoptera acutorostrata, caught in southern Brazilian waters, with a new record of prey for the species. The Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals 2(2): 109-115. (PDF)

Crespo, E.A., Secchi, E.R., Dalla Rosa, L., Kinas, P.G., Danilewicz, D. and Bordino, P. 2002. Report of the working group on abundance estimates. The Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals 1(1): 65-66.

Dalla Rosa, L., Secchi, E.R., Kinas, P.G., Santos, M.C.O., Martins, M.B., Zerbini, A.N. and Bethlem, C.B.P. 2001. Photo-identification of humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae, off the Antarctic Peninsula from 1997/98 to 1999/2000. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 47(2): 555-561. (PDF)

Greig, A.B., Secchi, E.R., Zerbini, A.N., and Dalla Rosa, L. 2001. Stranding events of southern right whales, Eubalaena australis, in southern Brazil. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management (Special Issue 2): 157-160. (PDF)

Secchi, E. R., Dalla Rosa, L., Kinas, P. G., Santos, M. C. O., Zerbini, A. N., Bassoi, M. and Moreno, I. B. 2001. Encounter rates of whales around the Antarctic Peninsula with special reference to humpback whales, Megaptera novaeangliae, in the Gerlache Strait: 1997/98 to 1999/2000. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 47(2): 571-578. (PDF)

Dalla Rosa, L. and Secchi, E.R. 1997. Stranding of a blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) in southern Brazil: 'true' or pygmy? Reports of the International Whaling Commission 47: 425-430. (PDF)

Secchi, E.R., Zerbini, A.N., Bassoi, M., Dalla Rosa, L., Moller, L.M. and Rocha-Campos, C.C. 1997. Mortality of franciscanas, Pontoporia blainvillei, in coastal gillneting in southern Brazil: period 1994-1995. Reports of the International Whaling Commission 47: 653-658. (PDF)